Item number: M339

Year: AD 1937-1945

Material: Silver

Size: 32.2 x 25.2 x 1.9 mm

Weight: 12.05 g

Provenance: Private Collector, Taiwan, 2024

This is a “Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Membership Badge” issued in AD 1937 under Japanese colonial rule in Taiwan, following the escalation of Sino-Japanese relations into full-scale war.

This silver badge follows the oval shape typical of commemorative medals issued in Japan during the same period. At the centre of the obverse side, the characters “Military Service” (從軍) are engraved in an artistic script, surrounded by a nine-layered paulownia motif and the character “Tai” (台) at the top, modelled after the emblem of the Taiwan Governor-General’s Office. The reverse side features a pin, with the inscriptions “Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Association” (臺灣從軍記念會) on the right and “Membership Badge” (會員徽章) on the left. At the top, the phrase “China Incident” (支那事變) is engraved.

In AD 1937, following the Marco Polo Bridge Incident, which escalated into full-scale war between China and Japan, the two sides soon clashed in the intense Battle of Shanghai on August 13. As Japanese forces became bogged down in fierce fighting in Shanghai, the Japanese Army General Staff issued an emergency mobilisation order in September of the same year to the “Taiwan Army,” stationed in colonial Taiwan. The order deployed several units to the Shanghai front, including the 1st Taiwan Infantry Regiment and its reserve unit, the 2nd Taiwan Infantry Regiment and its reserve unit, the Taiwan Mountain Artillery Regiment and its reserve unit, as well as the 1st and 2nd Taiwan Medical Corps.

The “Taiwan Military Service Commemorative Association,” which issued this badge, was likely composed of the Japanese family members of soldiers deployed to the Chinese battlefield from the so-called “Taiwan Army.” This unit, despite its name, consisted entirely of Japanese personnel stationed in colonial Taiwan. At that time, Japan had not yet implemented a volunteer or conscription system for Taiwanese residents. However, many Taiwanese individuals participated in Japan’s war efforts in China as auxiliary personnel and labourers (gunpu, military porters).

物件編號: M339

年代: 公元 1937-1945 年

材質: 銀

尺寸: 32.2 x 25.2 x 1.9 mm

重量: 12.05 g

來源: 臺灣私人收藏 2024

這是一枚公元1937年，隨著中日雙方演變為全面性的戰爭後，日本殖民下的臺灣發行之「臺灣從軍記念會員章」。

此銀質徽章外觀為同時期日本記念章常見的橢圓形。獎章正面中央以藝術字體鐫刻「從軍」兩字，周圍的九重桐和頂端的「台」是臨摹臺灣總督府的「台字章」徽紋。徽章背面有一個別針，分別在右邊和左邊是「臺灣從軍記念會」和「會員徽章」，頂部則寫著「支那事變」。

公元1937年，七七事變演變為中日全面戰爭後，雙方隨即在上海爆發激烈的八一三淞滬會戰。隨著上海的日軍陷入苦戰，日本陸軍參謀本部在當年九月向鎮守臺灣的「臺灣軍」下達緊急動員令，調度轄下的臺灣步兵第一聯隊及其補充隊、臺灣步兵第二聯隊及其補充隊、臺灣山砲兵聯隊及其補充隊、臺灣第一衛生隊、臺灣第二衛生隊投入上海戰場。

頒發這枚獎章的「臺灣從軍記念會」應該是由調往中國戰場的「臺灣軍」日籍家屬組成。這支名為「臺灣軍」的日本部隊，實則由日本派往殖民地臺灣的日本人組成。彼時日本尚未向臺灣人展開志願兵和徵兵制度，但已有眾多臺灣人以輔助人員軍伕身分投入日本在中國的戰爭。